The Battery Regulation regulates more than just the digital product passport. It also includes a due diligence obligation regarding the sourcing of raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel: anyone placing a battery on the market must be able to demonstrate that these raw materials have been extracted and processed responsibly. This obligation has existed for some time, but this year it will become clearer in practice exactly who is subject to it and how supervisory authorities will enforce it.
For those it affects: the due diligence obligation is intended for companies that, as manufacturers or importers, are responsible for placing a battery on the market, particularly for parties above a threshold specified in the regulation itself. A large part of SME importers of e-bikes, scooters and light electric vehicles is expected to fall outside this, but this is not a fixed rule for every smaller company: the threshold is linked to turnover and battery type, not to how large a company considers itself to be. Anyone uncertain whether their own situation is subject to the due diligence obligation is well advised to investigate this specifically rather than rely on intuition.
What the due diligence obligation entails
The due diligence obligation requires a policy in which a company describes how it identifies risks in the supply chain, what measures it takes if risks are found, and how it reports on this. This policy concerns the sourcing of raw materials, not the technical composition of the battery itself. It is separate from the digital product passport, which primarily concerns data describing the battery itself, such as capacity, composition and repair parts. Both obligations stem from the same regulation, but they affect different parts of a company: the due diligence obligation primarily affects procurement and supplier management, the product passport primarily affects product information and documentation.
What is changing concretely this year
The regulation itself has not been amended, but the way the obligation is interpreted and enforced is taking shape this year. Supervisory authorities and industry organisations are publishing further guidance on which raw materials are precisely covered by the due diligence obligation and what a policy must look like to meet the requirement. For companies that have been working with the due diligence obligation for some time, this mainly means a more precise implementation of something already in place. For companies that were not yet aware that the due diligence obligation exists, this is a good time to determine whether their own turnover and product range fall within the threshold.
Because the exact threshold values and the precise scope per battery category are set out in the official text and in some respects are still being further developed, it is advisable to consult the current version of the regulation for your own situation or ask a lawyer to review it. We keep track of developments concerning the product passport on batpas.eu, but the due diligence obligation is a separate part of the regulation that may require other expertise.
Why this is separate from the product passport, but comes together
For an e-bike battery importer who is subject to the due diligence obligation, this means two files running in parallel: the file with sourcing information on raw materials, and the file with product data for the digital product passport. Both files require data from the same supplier, and for many companies it is more efficient to make that request once than in two separate rounds. If you are already in discussions with a supplier about product passport data, you can ask in the same e-mail whether information is also available on the sourcing of raw materials. In the long run, this saves time, even if the due diligence obligation ultimately does not apply in your own situation.
What you can do now
It is not necessary to draw up a complete due diligence policy immediately if it is not yet established whether this is mandatory for your company. What does help is to get an initial picture of where your company stands: what type of batteries you place on the market, who has which role in the chain, and what data you already receive from suppliers. With a few questions that quickly give you insights you get an indication of your situation, without having to open a file for it right away. For the underlying concepts, such as who exactly is a manufacturer, importer or distributor, you can consult the explanation in the knowledge base with explanations per subject consult.
If you are in doubt or have specific questions about how we obtain information and what is correct about it, we explain that on the page about where our information comes from. Frequently asked questions about the scope of the regulation, including questions not covered in this article, are compiled on the page with frequently asked questions.
Take the free quick scan to see where your company stands, or browse through the knowledge base for the topics that are specifically relevant to your situation.